Meet the Leader

Mrs. (Linda) Westerhof!!

Who are you?
Linda Westerhof; science teacher at Reeths-Puffer High School for 16 years. I teach AP Biology, Anatomy and Physiology and Biology 2. I have 2 boys: Jacob, age 9, and Benjamin, age 7. I love to scrapbook, read, play volleyball and golf, camp, and go to the beach.

How long have you been a STATS Team Leader?
I have been a STATS team leader for 14 years.

What do you enjoy about being a Team Leader?
I enjoy working with students who I might not normally meet in my classroom and I especially love the fact that these kids are brave enough to spread the abstinence message in a society where it is believed that "everybody is doing it."

What kinds of problems did you face as a teenager?
When I was a teenager, our biggest problems were choosing the right groups to "fit" into, worrying about how to get a ride to the arcade, and hoping that your parents would get cable TV (my parents never did until I moved out of the house), a VCR and a microwave!

What would you say is the biggest struggle for teenagers today?
One of the biggest struggles for teens today is our crumbling value of morality in our society. Teens thinks it's "cool" to be pregnant, have sex, drink, do drugs and treat adults in disrespectful ways. It is broadcast to them via the movies they see, the TV shows they watch and the music they listen to.

Why did you want to be a Team Leader for STATS?
I wanted to be a STATS team leader so that I could be surrounded by students who were proud to tell other students that they didn't need to do drugs, alcohol, tobacco or have sex to be "cool."

What would be your most memorable Team Leader experience?
There are so many memories, it's hard to choose. A funny one that stands out in my mind is when my team wrote a "grandma" skit and grandma was played by a boy dressed in a wig and a skirt - VERY funny stuff! Emotional memories would be listening to some of the students give their personal talks. There were many performances where tears were shed by STATS team members, students in the audience and even teachers. Helping someone through a talk like that is a powerful relationship-building experience!

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Somewhere warm! I've already been to a few beautiful places such as Hawaii and Costa Rica. I'd love to go to the Florida Keys to swim in the clear blue water, or Australia/New Zealand to to swim around the Great Barrier Reef.

Thank you, Linda, for your time and energy as a STATS leader! You are so appreciated!!

November Recap

Wow, this year already feels as if it's flying by!
Our first presentations in November went well. The teams visited Bunker Middle School, Reeths-Puffer Middle School and Nellie B. Chisholm (Montague) Middle School. Overall, 354 students saw the STATS presentations! That is a great start to the year.
We'll leave you with some photos from Bunker to enjoy:

Somebody is about to get burned by a comeback line!

Even Mrs. Turner-Terry joins in on the fun.

In Case You Missed It...

There was an article about STATS in last Saturday's Muskegon Chronicle!! You can read it by clicking here.
There are some great pictures as well! Way to go, STATS members and leaders!
A couple corrections:
*4 of the team leaders are teachers, not counselors.
*Jan Spoelman was part of a group that founded STATS. We are thankful she is still with the program and active in it today!
Thank you to the Chronicle for a great article and recognizing the importance of this program!

Mini-Retreat

Just over a week ago, our STATS teams came together for the first time since Retreat to show each other what skits they have come up with. Mini-retreat is a time in which the students also share who will be giving personal talks and what their topics are about and it is also a time of constructive criticism by all the team leaders, directors, and special guest, Kyle Warmington. This year we were on a time crunch during the actual day of mini-retreat so it was an intense two and a half hours. We are pleased to see how each team has come along, though, and look forward to final critiques when all has been sharpened and perfected!
This year at mini-retreat we also wished a very happy birthday to two of our fearless team leaders, Mrs. Westerhof and Mrs. Stapel, who celebrated birthdays that weekend. We appreciate their hard work and sacrificing time out of their birthday celebration weekends and family time to be with the STATS teams!

STATS Retreat 2010

We had a beautiful September day for our STATS retreat! This is a time when the peer educators are educated themselves on important information and tips for how to do a successful presentation. They also meet as teams for the first time and start putting together their creativity to write skits, songs and plan out who is giving a personal talk on what subject. It is a long day...but it is always a productive day and there is fun to be had!

Our fearless team leaders!!

We are thankful that Kyle Warmington from CURE International is gracious enough to provide help in skit development. He comes with his creative juices flowing and really gets the kids to think outside the box.

While the students do work hard during the day, that doesn't mean they don't have some time to play! There is an afternoon break in which we walk down to the beach and let them run their energy out. Some do things like dig holes...
...or play volleyball...

...swing...

...play with a giant frisbee...

...or hang out with friends...

before coming back inside to listen about the gross but true facts concerning STDs (sexually transmitted diseases.)


Thank you to Maranatha for providing us with the space to hold this retreat!

Our 2010 STATS Team!

We look forward to the coming year and all that it will bring with it!!